Have you heard of icebox cookies? Well let me tell you, they’re a dangerous concept – the cookie dough chills in the fridge for up to a week, and you can slice and bake as desired (read breakfast, lunch, and dinner) – see I told you, dangerous concept! These cookies are one step easier even than icebox cookies because you just pull them out of the fridge and slice them, no baking required and they’re too healthy to be dangerous!
Every year I start craving that delicious combination of cranberry and orange, and it usually happens to coincide the first day of Costco’s holiday baking. It’s like they know I can barely resist that sweet bakery smell of cranberry orange muffins and they’re always making them when I’m shopping! So… anyways I made it out of Costco ok, but by the time I was in Natural Grocers I was starting to break down (very little will power here), and before you know it a package of cranberries just hopped into my cart! Luckily, I had an idea for something healthier in mind!
These cookies are super easy and quick to make! You just place everything in the food processor and process until your desired texture is reached!
Once you have a soft cookie dough of sorts, it’s time to shape your cookies.
The dough is rather sticky, so I used a spatula to scrape it out of the food processor and onto a piece of plastic wrap in the general shape of a log – then I used the plastic wrap to help me roll it into an even log. From here you can roll it in the coconut but I recommend a little time in the refrigerator to firm up the dough.
When you’re ready to serve the cookies, unwrap the cookie dough log and roll it in shredded coconut. From there you carefully transfer the log (I used 2 spatulas) to a serving plate and decorate with fresh cranberries.
One of the best things about these cookies is they’re healthy enough to eat for breakfast, but rich enough to satisfy my sweet tooth! I also love that they’re no bake and so easy to make – even though I love baking, I love super easy recipes even more!
Print
Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 20-25 | 1/2" thick cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw cashews
- 1/4 cup raw honey, or maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
- 4 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, juice sweetened
- Shredded coconut for rolling the cookies, about 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup
- Fresh cranberries for decoration, I used 9 cranberries across the top of my cookie log
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a large food processor in the order listed.
- Pulse the ingredients together until a soft cookie dough forms and begins to stick in the machine.
- Scrape the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and form into a log.
- Refrigerate the cookie log for 2-4 hours, or until you’re ready to serve them.
- Roll the cookie log in the shredded coconut, thoroughly covering the surface.
- Using two spatulas, carefully transfer the cookie log to a serving plate and decorate with the fresh cranberries and serve immediately.
- Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 1 day, or in the freezer for up to 1 month tightly sealed.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
Wondering why cookies are only good for one day?
Because all the ingredients are fresh and raw, I like to freeze them right away to preserve freshness, but they could be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days at the most.
This recipe looks delicious! Just wondering, since we can’t get fresh/frozen cranberries here in Australia, could I simply swap it for another berry? If so, which do you recommend? TIA
You could probably swap out for another berry, but they all have quite a bit more moisture than cranberries so I’d try using half the amount and seeing how that goes. I think subbing out another berry in equal measurements might end up in a sticky mess. I personally would try raspberries because they tend to be a little less juicy than strawberries, but blueberries might work as well. Let me know which way you end up going and how it turns out! 🙂
Another great recipe, Kari! These would be fun to try… I like that cranberry-orange combo, too!
Thanks Heidi, I really hope you enjoy them! I need to work on more cranberry orange recipes – I can never get enough of that combo! 🙂
Those cookies look amazing. They are a must for the new year!
I hope you enjoy them, they’re so easy to make and they’ve really been a hit around here!
I’m so excited!! I have everything I need to make these! I’ve never made icebox cookies, before – so this will be a real treat! And in case we don’t connect again before Christmas, wishing you a very lovely holiday!
★★★★★
That’s always a great feeling when you have everything you need, especially so close to the holidays! Hope you enjoy them, and wishing you and your family a wonder holiday too! 🙂
Hi Kari! These sound good. Do you have any idea how many cups of cashews equal one pound? I don’t have a kitchen scale.
Hi Karen, I really don’t know how many cups equal a pound. I wrote the recipe with weight measurements because cashews come in all different sizes which can make them inaccurate to measure by the cup. I buy my cashews in 1 pound packages at Natural Grocers – look for cashew pieces because they’re much cheaper and they just get ground up anyways. I would definitely look into getting a kitchen scale at some point because they’re so handy, but just going way out on a limb I’d guess that a 1 pound package is around 3 cups of cashew pieces. Best of luck, and next time I’m making a recipe I’ll be sure to measure with both weight and cups! 🙂